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Most Route 35 construction to be halted during Shore tourist season

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Construction work on Hurricane Sandy-damaged Route 35 in Ocean County will be suspended during the Shore tourist season, starting on Memorial Day Weekend and continuing from June 13 through Labor Day Weekend.
(Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)

Most work on Hurricane Sandy-damaged Route 35 in Ocean County will be halted during Memorial Day Weekend and the 12 weeks between June 13 and Labor Day Weekend, allowing motorists to travel without roadblocks on one of the most popular Shore routes during the summer tourist season.

However, a 2½-mile stretch of the roadway could be down to as little as one lane in each direction between Brick and Toms River.

The state Department of Transportation is in the midst of a 2-year, $265 million total reconstruction of the 12½ miles of Route 35 from below Point Pleasant to Island Beach State Park, expected to be completed in 2015.

New Jersey's most devastating storm 17 months ago chewed away part of the peninsula section of Route 35 in Mantoloking near where the Atlantic Ocean mets Barnegat Bay. The DOT quickly repaired the breach to allow traffic to resume, but is taking advantage of federal funds to totally reconstruct the road.

"Route 35 is the main artery along the Barnegat Peninsula connecting many Jersey Shore destinations," state Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson said in a statement. "We are working in partnership with our contractors, local officials, and businesses to ease congestion and limit the impact to residents and businesses during the summer, while advancing the project on an aggressive schedule to restore the shore as quickly as possible."

No construction will be allowed on either Route 35 or the side streets of Bay Head and Mantoloking, while Berkeley, Seaside Park and Seaside Heights will have construction on side streets only, according to the DOT.

Construction in the Lavallette business district will be halted from May 22 to Labor Day Weekend.

Although the DOT is limiting its own activities in the area, it cautions that utility crews not employed by the DOT are doing their own work. Irate motorists last year blamed the DOT for massive backups one weekend, but the roadblocks were from utility work.